Plural-pole single-throw switch



April 29, 1941 J. SQLENTHALER 2,240,196

PLURAL-POLE SINGLE-THROW' SWITCH APF?1E 29, 1941 J. SOLENTHALER 2,240,196

PLURAL-POLE SINGLE-THROW SWITCH Filed Jan. 27, 1939 2 Sheets-Sham 2 Patented Apr. 29, 1941 UNITED STATES PATET OFFICE Application January 27, 1939, Serial No. 253,069 In Switzerland January 26, 1938 1 Claim.

My invention relates to improvements in electrical switches of the push-button type in which only one button is employed; and the object of my improvements is to simplify the lswitch structure.

I attain this and related objects by the mechanism illustrated, by way of one form of invention, in the accompanying drawings, in which-` Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the invention, partly in section; Figl 2, a top view; Fig. 3, a second side View; Fig 4, a mechanical detail; Fig. 5, a rear elevation of the contact elements; and Fig. 6, a partial side elevation, showing the bearing disposition of the pivoted contact shaft.

In the switch illustrated, a panel plate 3 and a plate 2 are mounted parallel upon an insulating board I and form the two standards for the rotatable contact shaft 4 (Fig. 6). of square section and is provided with an insulating cover and two round end journals, one of which projects from the said plate 3. A lever 5 is fastly attached to the said latter journal and comprises two opposite arms 5a and 5h, and between the latter a third arm 5c extending Adownwardly (Fig. 1). A stud pin is passed through the said arm 5c and forms a journal on both sides of the latter. A slotted fork 6, provided with a bar, bears on the said latter journals. Between the fork 6 and a collar 'I a compression spring 9 is confined upon the bar of the fork.

A bell crank 8 at its fulcrum is pivoted on a bolt which is secured to the plate 3. The lower or horizontal arm of the lever 8 is forked and journalled to the collar 'l (Fig. 4). The upper arm of the lever 8 is articulated to two lateral push bars I and II. The other ends of the latter are pivoted to a roller I2 which in turn is journalled to the lower ends of two parallel connecting rods I3 and I4. The upper ends of the latter are pivoted to the said arm b.

Two superimposed rollers are rotatively mounted upon one end of a roller arm I5, and the lower of these rollers rests upon the said lever 5. In place of this latter roller one also could use a slide element. arm I5 is journalled toa lever I6 which in its lower part is provided with a slide plate upon which the said roller I2 is movable. 'Ihe lever I5 is pivoted to a pin passing through the center of the said slide plate and secured to the '4 plate 3.

A stud I'l, which limits the movement of the lever 5, is situated between the arms 5a and 5c of the latter and fastened to the plate 3. A key I8 is positioned above the roller arm I5 and is The latter is The other end of the said pivoted to a bolt `secured to the plate 3. The said key I8 rests upon the upper roller of the roller arm I5, and its free end is situated below an angle element I9 which is inserted between a set collar of a spring rod 20 and a push button 2I fastened thereto. The said spring rod 2!! is displaceably guided by means of a bracket 22, which is fastened to the plate 3, and the push button 2l, which latter itself is axially guided in the housing cover of the switch. A compression spring 23 is confined upon the rod 20 between the said bracket 22 and the said set collar. A nut 24, screwed upon the said rod 20 below the said bracket 22, prevents the rod 20 from sli-ding out of the latter.

The said key I 8 suitably may be passed directly through the switch housing, and it also may be provided with a foot release which is not shown in the drawings.

The operation of the switch described is as follows: By pushing down the button 2I, the spring rod 20 and the angle element I9 are depressed, and the spring 23 is compressed, and the key I8 is pushed down upon the upper roller of the arm I5. The latter, which communicates with the roller I2 by means of the connecting rods I3 and I4, depresses the arm 5b of the lever 5 upon which it rests until the arm 5c engages the stud ll'. The lever 5 and the contact shaft 5, then, have moved clockwise through an angle of approximately and the arm 5cltogether with the fork S-has moved beyond its dead point position into the other limit, in which it is held by the pressure of the spring 9. Since, however, the latter spring pressure always is acting upon the bell crank 8 also, the upper arm of the latter tends to push the roller I2-by way of the push bars Ill and II-onto the slide plate of the lever I6. Through the operation described, however, the roller I2 has been brought below the fulcrum of the lever I6. If, now, the key I8 is, released, the roller I2, which is pushed to the right by the push bars I0 and II, pushes the upper part of the lever I5 toward the lever 5. -Through the roller arm I5, which is connected to the lever I6, the rollers of the former are displaced upon the opposite arm 5a of the lever 5. If, now, one again operates the switch by depressing the button 2 I, the pushing down of the key I 8 causes the lever 5 to rotate in the opposite sense until its arm 5c strikes against the stud Il. Through this rotation of the lever 5 the roller I2 is displaced above the fulcrum of the lever IB. After releasing the key I8, the pressure of the spring 9 upon the roller I2 causes a rearward motion of the 1ever I6, whereby the rollers cf the arm I5 again are brought upon the other arm 5b of the lever 5.

One may see from Figs- 2 and 5 that contact elements are secured to the contact shaft A Spring contacts are disposed on either side of the said elements which may be engaged with or disengaged from the latter by turning the contact shaft 4. The number of contacts depends on the number of circuits employed. rI'he contact shaft 4 also may be provided with an indicator scale made visible through a sealed opening in the housing cover of the switch.

Since the switch according to my present invention possesses only one operating button, and since one cannot tell ohand if the switch be in the onor off-position, I recommend the provision of an indicating device.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A plural-pole single-throw switch of the character described comprising a frame, a contact shaft pivoted therein, a three-arm lever secured to said shaft, a stud secured to said frame for limiting the rocking of said shaft and lever, a connecting rod at one end articulated to the center arm of said lever, a bell crank pivoted in said frame and having two arms at right angles to one another, a collar journalled to one of the latter arms wherein the said connecting rod is longitudinally displaceable, a helical spring wound upon the said rod and bearing against said center arm and said collar, a pair of push bars at one end journalled to the other arm of said bell crank, a roller journalled to the other end of said bars, a pair of connecting rods at one end pivoted to said roller and push bars and at the other end journalled to one of the lateral arms of said lever, a second lever pivoted in said frame and having a slide face on both sides of its fulcrum for the said roller, an arm pivoted to the one end of said second lever and at its other end having a pair of rollers situated one above the other of which the lower one bears on the said latter arm of said first lever, a spring element secured to said frame and bearing on the top one of said latter pair of rollers, a springloaded plunger, and a connecting link for transferring a rectilinear movement of said plunger to the structure described; the whole in such a combination that upon completion of the switching manipulation the spring-pressure acting upon the said collar is transmitted by means of the first-mentioned roller onto the said second lever, that the latter is rotated, and that thereby a rotation of the said single arm is caused during which the bottom one of the latters rollers is shifted from one of the lateral arms of said rst lever onto the other lateral arm.

JOHANN SOLENTHALER. 

